


Sparks Fly

by TheDesertPenguin (PANguin)



Category: Mr. Iglesias (TV)
Genre: As of part 3 this is canon divergent, Based on the song by Taylor Swift of the same name, F/M, Fluff, I know Mikey doesn't have green eyes let me live, I'm not sure what I'm doing, Mari is just in love and confused, Mikey is in love and confused but for different reasons ig, My first song fic !, Romance, Self-Indulgent, These two own my heart right now sooooo, What Have I Done, there is no dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25141900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PANguin/pseuds/TheDesertPenguin
Summary: Though it was an interruption, something that shook up her life unexpectedly, she somehow didn’t mind it as much as some thought it would.That interruption of course being the one and only Mikey Gutierrez.
Relationships: Marisol Fuentes/Mikey Gutierrez
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Sparks Fly

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic of this fandom so if the characters seem out of character I'm sorry! Just trying to get comfortable with them right now :)

**_The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm_ ** **_  
And I'm a house of cards  
You're the kind of reckless that should send me running  
But I kinda know that I won't get far_ **

Looking back on it, there was always something there. Growing in the back of her mind, unwarranted but not unwanted. However, she never quite let herself think about those growing feelings because there were other things to worry about. For one, she had her studies which took up a good amount of her time. Marisol couldn’t indulge herself about having a future with someone because she could only think about _having_ a future. Which leads her to her second point, she wanted to change global and community issues. There were so many things that needed fixing for her to spare time to like someone. Her final, not excuse but something close to that (maybe), was that she had three jobs to worry about. Paying the bills was much more important than paying attention to her feelings.

Thankfully that worked for a while. She threw herself into those situations full force, unwavering. Some may call her pushy, but that didn’t matter. It felt good to be part of a change in school or outside of. She was happy she had Mr. Iglesias to speak to and know that he had her back no matter what. And despite her general annoyance with her classmates, they were friends. Marisol was in a good place, a great place even, managing everything with the skill of a card dealer when shuffling. She knew how to shuffle each card right so everything was handled to the best of her capabilities.

Then the damn play happened and suddenly everything was caught in a whirlwind.

Her skill that she was so proud of felt like it was taken away. As if someone had interrupted the shuffling and caused the cards to fly out of her hands. Marisol was desperately trying to gather them all up to continue life but now one thing was added and it felt wrong to entirely ignore it. No matter how much she wanted to, it always came back as if it never left in the first place. Though it was an interruption, something that shook up her life unexpectedly, she somehow didn’t mind it as much as some thought it would. 

That interruption of course being the one and only Mikey Gutierrez.

**_And you stood there in front of me just_ ** **_  
Close enough to touch  
Close enough to hope you couldn't see  
What I was thinking of_ **

He had been by her side since third grade, at first, she thought his feelings would eventually blow over. Then as time went on it seemed his crush had grown deeper than anything she had expected. And at some point, he had become her best friend, being there to comfort her if she needed it and vice versa. She was aware of his crush; it was hard not to be the boy had been obvious since the beginning but it never felt as if he was forcing her to return his feelings. He wanted to know more about her it seemed, wanting to know who she was. It endeared her in a way and maybe some time along the way she may have started reciprocating those feelings unknowingly.

She had only begun to realize this during the reading of Romeo and Juliet. They stood close, which of course wasn’t anything new Mikey insisted at being by her side if he could. Then Marisol said her lines, non-committedly because this was _so_ not her forte. Then she looked up to see him say his lines with ease and it was as if this floodgate opened. Suddenly, she was short of breath and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. When the script called for a kiss, she very nearly went for it.

Her brain seemed to be in big support of doing so, even if moments before the thought very rarely crossed her mind. Marisol was so lost in Mikey’s eyes watching this boy’s natural talent for acting but realizing how much she just wanted to hug and kiss him. The thoughts were so all-encompassing that when Mr. Hernandez interrupted her, she nearly jumped. Her brain slowly started to clear the fog and she managed to ask him for help.

Just because suddenly she was racked with these feelings doesn’t mean she’ll bomb this play.

**_Drop everything now_ ** **_  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile_ **

Later that night, Marisol dreamt of Mikey. Normally, if he was in her dreams (which upon speculation was way more often than she had originally thought) it was with the entire class. Those dreams usually went about with an odd series of events that Marisol would not remember by the time she woke up. This time, the dream was solely about her and Mikey. When she had woken up from that dream, it was imprinted in her mind. Each scene clearly laid out in sequential order, though over time those details became hazy.

She remembers the kiss, in the rain, because she’s dramatic now apparently.

She chooses to blame that on her mother and move on.

Mikey greeted her at the door. This wasn’t anything new, he would always do that if he managed to make it to school early enough to do so. It was always the same greeting; he’d trip trying to run up to her like a puppy just learning to walk. He would then stutter out a greeting as if it were too early to formulate two small words. She’d calmly return it with a smile and a few words of her own and walk on, Mikey by her side. As said, this was nothing new but suddenly, she sees him and she’s reminded of the dream from the night before and how close they were. She feels heat rush to her face but she keeps it down enough to formulate a response.

Marisol notices how at ease she feels when Mikey is by her side. She knows that if she fell, he would catch her and ask her a million times if she was okay. She hopes that he knows that if he were to fall, she would do the same thing. The calmness fades for a second when Walt drags Mikey into a headlock as a way to say hello. The chaos of the world returns at that, the way that Lorenzo (because just as Marisol seems to always be with Mikey, Walt was always with Lorenzo) starts babbling off about the new conspiracy theory he read about. When Marisol points out the inconsistencies, it’s as if his whole world comes tumbling down. To be honest, if Walt wasn’t there to console him there was a high chance a breakdown would’ve occurred. Grace came at that time and looked confused before she began throwing out roasts towards Lorenzo as a form of comfort.

Which somehow works, in a way.

Mikey smiles helplessly in her direction, she smiled back as if his smile wasn’t quite possibly the best thing ever.

**_Get me with those green eyes, baby_ ** **_  
As the lights go down  
Gimme something that'll haunt me whenever you're not around  
'Cause I see, sparks fly, when you smile_ **

They continue practicing for the play outside of school. Marisol wasn’t lying when she said that she was ba(a-a-a)d at acting. It was frustrating to be bad at something, she liked it when she could pick something up quickly, or if she worked hard enough, she’d eventually get it. With acting, it seemed as though no amount of practice was going to fix it. Though she may have had some frustrations she couldn’t find it in herself to be that upset about it. Marisol never thought of acting as a way to get further in life, too many unknowns for her to be comfortable with it.

The after-school practices made her look into Mikey’s eyes for far longer than she ever had before. For unknown reasons, looking into his eyes made her fall deeper into her feelings. They captivated her like no one else’s business, at the moment nothing else mattered. They would practice until the sun settled on the horizon. It would end when either Marisol had to go to one of her jobs or until they just couldn’t focus anymore.

Leaving had always been the awkward part, neither party knew what to say. There would be some handwaving, awkward laughter, and a few mumbled sentences before they would just walk away with shy smiles. There had been a time where they walked right into each other, it was after their last goodbye out of the five other variations that took place before it. They didn’t pay attention to where the other was walking before a collision. It wasn’t enough to make either fall over but enough for a slight burst of pain to course through Mari’s nose.

She had never been aware of Mikey’s height until that moment. Which to be fair isn’t something she’d normally notice but there’s something about your nose being slammed against a tall person’s chest that puts things into perspective. This moment lead to another awkward goodbye before they took off in opposite directions. His smile, his personality, his eyes, and now his height were all swarming together in her brain.

Marisol had another dream that night.

**_My mind forgets to remind me, you’re a bad idea_ ** **_  
You touch me once and it's really something  
You find I'm even better than you_ **

**_Imagined I would be_ **

She’d be a fool not to realize Mikey’s growing excitement and nerves the closer they came to the play. He’s slip up about the kiss every now and then or express his excitement about being a lead. It was kinda cute, seeing him all flustered in a way that wasn’t embarrassing. Because in the years Mari has known Mikey, she has only seen him in an excited state that would only lead to being embarrassed by the rest of the class’s remarks. He also had a weird understanding of how the language of Shakespeare worked which was refreshing. He’d ask her if his interpretations of the work were close to correct and she’d smile then admit that he was correct. Then he’d get this proud look on his face, like a dog who just mastered a new trick.

There was one time they were practicing; this practice took place during the actual class. They had a sub that day so it was up to them to decide on what to do for the period. Mikey and Marisol decided to spend time doing scenes that they haven’t particularly spent time on. During this, he said his line and cupped her face with one hand and she nearly imploded right there. Funnily enough, he didn’t seem to know what he did as his hand quickly retracted and he let out a few laughs. Marisol managed to push down any embarrassment to just smile and roll her eyes.

He changed the subject by interpreting a line and asking if he was correct. When she assured him that he was, the proud look returned (whether this look stayed imprinted within her mind along with a myriad of other things about Mikey, is for her and only her to know). The rest of the class went along without another awkward incident but that was largely due to the two joining their friends in playing some random card games that ultimately turned into a trash basketball game.

That same day, Mikey mentioned that they’re practicing gave him a new perception of Marisol. Of course, this wasn’t to her face, it was to Walt’s face. She just happened to be in the same place without their knowledge. Apparently, it was interesting to see her nervous because while she does get nervous cause she (contrary to popular belief) is not the best at everything, this was different. It wasn’t that she was nervous for a test or whether she was going to be able to help pay the bills, she was nervous because she was acting in front of a bunch of people. Her studying time was cut down and so was the amount of time she could throw at her jobs.

Marisol is slightly surprised he noticed that, only slightly.

**_I'm on my guard for the rest of the world_ ** **_  
But with you I know it’s no good  
And I could wait patiently  
But I really wish you would_ **

The only reason and this is said with a hefty _only_ , that her classmates haven’t all come to the realization of her unspoken feelings (they have their suspicions), is because she pushes them down as much as she can during school. She invests herself into Green Week and by the end of it, she’s immensely proud of herself. She was helping the planet little by little and making others aware of the issues surrounding climate change. Her next issue to bury herself in, cultural appropriation. Which ended in her having a small business that would no doubt profit. That may have been the best part of it if she’s being honest. Cause not only did she convince of Mr. Iglesias of the problem (sort of) but she was making money from it so win-win.

However, that need for normalcy is negated whenever she and Mikey are doing the damn play. Shakespeare’s words do things to her, she tends to forget that there’s this façade that she wants to put up. That becomes more and more apparent as the shows debut creeps closer. So much so, that she eventually breaks down and finally laments everything to Grace, who surprisingly supportive.

Until she begins texting her cheesy pickup lines or kissing emojis whenever Marisol even glances in Mikey’s direction.

When the day before the play comes and the panic is fully set in that she’s going to be in front of everyone. That she is definitely going to bomb this play and that’ll make her unsure and she’ll end up bombing college and become a dental assistant. The thought of actually kissing Mikey is so low on her list of worries that it doesn’t cross her mind till he brings it up. When he tells her that he doesn’t want to kiss her because it didn’t feel right.

She is so absolutely infatuated with this boy.

The night of the play was after a whole day of coming to terms that no, she cannot hide her feelings. It was a fun fantasy while it lasted but when she’s looking at him as Grace says how nervous she is, the fact that she’s nervous about Mikey just slips out. There’s no way that she could do the hand to hand scene and not kiss him then and there. It has been building up for so long that when that formidable scene comes up in the play she stares for a few seconds.

After the cheek to cheek, the stare is short that ultimately ends with to hell with it and,

**_Drop everything now_ ** **_  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see, sparks fly whenever you smile _ **

She kisses him, she grabs his face and kisses him.

The kiss is nice for how short and sorta forceful it was. She couldn’t really focus on if he actually reciprocated the kiss or not. There was this sort of feeling of right, Marisol really can’t describe it. For all the doubts in her mind, if this was real or not, this one kiss helped prove that it was real. It felt right like she could be able to do everything again like the cards were placed back in her hand and she could shuffle correctly.

He asks for a line and she is in shock that her mind and body were one with each other in order to carry on this seemingly impossible task. The rest of the play is just a slight blur as if it didn’t even happen. She only remembers things clearly when she sees Mikey staring at her seemingly confused but she didn’t get the chance to talk to him as his mom came and gave her a big hug. She didn’t get a chance to talk to him after either because he disappeared. She couldn’t find him and that’s when the doubt kicked in.

Did she make the right choice? Did he realize that he didn’t actually like her after the kiss?

**_Get me with those green eyes, baby_ ** **_  
As the lights go down  
Gimme something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile_ **

What followed could only be described as the most awkward either of the two had ever been. They had finals the following week so Mari decided to invest her time in that, she couldn’t hide her feelings but she could certainly ignore them for the time being. Though anytime they had class it was as if they couldn’t remember how to speak towards one another and they’d get reeled in from their blabbering from Mr. Iglesias or someone else in the class.

She could barely look him in the eyes because of how embarrassed she was. If she ever managed eye contact with him it was for but a second before one looked away. Mari misses his eyes; she misses the look he’d give her. She misses the awkward goodbyes, the talks they’d have over text about anything and everything. She misses his general presence.

It was weird because she usually took charge, she was pushy. With all past experiences, she should be able to march up to him declare her feelings and not regret it. That was who she was, she didn’t back down from something worth fighting for. There was no end to her wanting to be heard, to be respected, to be everything her family (and herself) needed her to be. What was it about this one boy that made her clam up and forget to actually speak her mind? It wasn’t inhibiting her from speaking up about other things so what the hell was going on?

Then it was summer and she was working a lot more because she had the time so she barely spoke to her friends anyway. It wasn’t that she was dropping off the face of the planet but they’ve been asking so many questions and demanding answers (she finally understands what Principal Madison must feel like when she comes in monologuing about a new topic of interest) that she didn’t have. So, instead, she says she’s tired and leaves it at that. She has no clue what Mikey’s feeling but the boy has always been slightly oblivious so she doesn’t think he sees what she’s going through entirely.

Even if he was surprisingly observant about her nervousness and stress.

**_I run my fingers through your hair_ ** **_  
And watch the lights go wild  
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me  
It’s just wrong enough to make it feel right _ **

One day, Mari is off of work and her friends insist on bringing her to hang out with them. She kinda hates them for it but she also kinda loves them for it. In all honesty, she needed this day out to be with friends. There was always a line she liked to dance around between work and play, work usually won. So, when she allows herself to be dragged out, it’s nice (albeit just a bit weird with Mikey) and she enjoys herself.

They spend the day screwing around, no doubt annoying anyone around them. They go to an arcade and yell at each other to “hurry up” or “look out”. It does little to help but they don’t exactly pride themselves on being the most helpful of people, more agents of chaos. There was a moment where Mikey and Marisol play a two-person shooter game and they beat it in record time, she tries not to think about what that could mean. Though she does take note of Mikey staring every now and then for the rest of the day.

They grab the cheapest thing possible to eat, it’s nachos with the fakest cheese ever and it takes Grace stuffing a hotdog in Mari’s face to stop her from going on another cultural appropriation tirade (she still grumbles about it later, Mikey gives her a small laugh and she definitely doesn’t blush). They walk around for a while stopping into stores to look at things that are far too expensive or ugly for them to buy. Though they do try on a few hats and laugh loudly, earning more then their fair share of dirty looks.

They’re on their way to buy ice cream when Mikey pulls her aside, insisting the others to go on. It doesn’t escape her that, Walt gives a disgustingly suggestive face, Lorenzo smiles smugly knowing, Grace gives her a thumbs up and an overexaggerated wink and Rita shoves them all into the store. Marisol decides Rita is her favorite now.

Mikey looks her in the eyes for the first time in forever the neon sign of the ice cream shop lighting up his face. She manages to keep it for a few seconds before looking at his hair (wondering what it’d be like to run her hands through it). He starts talking and she looks back at his eyes. His speaking is all stammers and word mix-ups before he stops, takes a breath and speaks again clearer and more precise.

**_And lead me up the staircase_ ** **_  
Won't you whisper soft and slow  
And I'm captivated by you baby  
Like a fireworks show_ **

He talks about how he’s felt since third grade, how long it took him to actually speak properly to her (which is still a little debatable but she loves the way he speaks for some reason). How much he grew to like her personality. How he loves her passion and headstrong nature. That he had tried for Romeo just for the chance to have her see him the same way (which sounds stupid on paper but worked way too well). How when she kissed him, he couldn’t remember anything that wasn’t her. How he didn’t know how to bring it up and that he resigned to thinking that she did it for the sake of the play.

He ends up whispering about how her intelligence was getting her places and that they’re going to different colleges. He says that if she feels the same way, they should at least give it a shot or they may regret it. He acknowledges that he doesn’t know how long they’ll be together but if it follows his dreams it would be forever. Then there’s a tangent about he’s rambling and about why would he mention that he’s rambling that’s weird.

Marisol listens to every word because she’s so entranced with the way he speaks and how he managed to lay out his feelings before her. She then effectively shuts him up by grabbing his hands, saying his name. Mikey looks at her helplessly, a silent ‘thank you for shutting me up I have no clue where I’m going with this’ is understood. She acknowledges that she is still new to understanding her feelings completely and navigating them is difficult. She also says that she’d love to navigate them with him cause there’s no one quite like him and she likes him quite a lot.

He smiles at her and drops her hands.

**_Drop everything now_ ** **_  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see, sparks fly whenever you smile_ **

He kisses her.

He cups her face and kisses her lightly. It is so different from their first one, it’s tentative and not quite sure. Mari is shocked for all but a second before lightly gripping his wrists and kissing back. It doesn’t last long but it was so nice and an entire party is lighting up her stomach. They pull apart and smile, it’s a quiet moment where she gets to enjoy his smile all over again. They’re in their own world because, wow this is actually happening.

Then loud cheers erupt from their friends from inside the coffee shop. They’re all pressed up against the window, faces smushed and hands pressed against the once clean glass. They have the goofiest grins on their faces and their ice cream is melting. From the ice cream bar, the server is giving both the most curious and dirtiest look towards the group.

Mikey and Marisol laugh, she turns her head and leans it on his chest. His arms loosely hang on her shoulders and hers wrap around his middle. It’s comfortable, it’s right and even if she’s not 100% sure on how to handle a relationship, she knows that they’ll figure it out.

Hopefully, she can get that kiss in the rain.

**_When sparks fly_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I cut the song short cause it seemed like a good time to end it   
> This took me so long to come up with and write if you have any suggestions about future works with this show please let me know :)
> 
> Tumblr~ @thedesertpenguin


End file.
